All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) Not Ready to Budge even an Inch from Assam Accord

July 26, 2018

File Photo of AASU Chief Advisor Samujjal Bhattacharjya

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, July 25: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has squarely rejected deviations of any sorts from the Assam Accord on the issue of Bangladeshis staying illegally in Assam. The premier students’ body of the State makes it clear yet again that it is not ready to budge even an inch on the issue.

AASU president Dipanko Kumar Nath said: “Since 2015 a trend of changing Acts, rules and regulations relating to foreigners staying in India has been visible. In sync with those changes, now there’re talks on issuance of long-term visas to people from Bangladesh to India. Yet another section is vocal for the issuance of work permits to Bangladeshis in India. All these are apart from the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. All such changes and amendments are intended to give Hindu Bangladeshis shelter in Assam. We squarely reject all these. We’re not ready to budge even an inch from the Assam Accord on the issue of foreigners staying illegally in the State.”

Delving deep into the problem, the AASU president said: “The Assam Accord spells it out in no uncertain on what to do with Bangladeshis staying illegally in Assam. Such people should just be detected and deported to Bangladesh. The most important step which the Centre should take immediately is – signing an extradition treaty with Bangladesh so as to deport Bangladeshis being detected here. We did expect Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss issues like Bangladeshis staying illegally in Assam and extradition treaty between India and Bangladesh during his visit to the neighbouring country last week. However, the Home Minister set all such important issues aside and discussed the issuance of long-term visas to Bangladeshis. The Government of India adopted this policy since September 7, 2015 when it issued the Foreigners (Amendment) Ordinance and Passport (Amendment) Rules. All these are intended to favour Hindu Bangladeshis by giving them shelter in Assam.”

Reacting sharply to the proposal of issuing work permits to Bangladeshis staying illegally in Assam, Nath said: “We reject this proposal outright. Such a step will spell doom for Assam. On the pretext of work permit, people from Bangladesh will continue to enter Assam and make the indigenous people here jobless.”